The Longest Road
by KnightmareFantom
Summary: Summary: Tess Ridder was an average girl from Jasper, Nevada until one day she was handed a package containing a strange object that erased part of her mind and inserted memories of alien into her head. Now, its a race against time as Decepticons and Autobots alike struggle to find and possess these alien memories of hers, but will the outcome be as clear as they had hoped...?
1. Chapter 1

**The Longest Road:**

A Transformers Prime FanFict. Story

By: Knightmare Fantom

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Hi, everyone. So this is my first time writing a fan-fiction dedicated to Hasbro's Transformers Prime Series. Yes I will be using a wide range of characters in this story, including my OC Tess Ridder, who will be more or less the main character of this story. Now, some of the material may seem like I ripped it off some other person's story or something like that, when actually, I came up with the idea BEFORE I came to realize that there were already some people out there who had done some this material as well, but please be rest assured that while it may have some similar parts, this story is completely based off my own ideas and interpretations of my own story. I don't plan to write any smut or such in here, rather, this is a great and long story to tell about what happens to Tess. So, everyone, please enjoy and if there are errors, as I did my best to find them, please just send me a message or something so I may edit it them. ^^;

~Knightmare Fantom 

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Chapter One:

It was one o' clock in the afternoon on the outskirts of Jasper, Nevada as an old 1994 4x4 ford truck rolled along a dusty back road towards a small, one story house at the end of a dead end. The color on the house was a nice, easy on the eyes pastel blue with a light dull-gray trim that made the house seem like tarnished silver. A three car wide driveway lead up to a two door garage, with a row of boxed flowers lining either side of the it as a small brick path lead up to a shaded porch. The ford rumbled to a halt as the driver but the truck in park and killed the engine; eagerly opening the driver door so that they could get out. The driver smiled and stretched as they popped their back and neck muscles with a satisfying crack. They were in their mid-twenties with frizzy brown hair held back by a hair tie and baseball cap. As the driver made their way up to the porch, an old brisk voice called out to them from the shade of the porch, "Jane…? Is that you?"

The driver looked over at the porch, squinting her eyes in slight surprise as she yelled back, "Uncle Mark?! What in Sam's name are you doing out here? I heard from Aunt Patty that you were living in Hawaii now." She grinned as she slammed her ford's door shut and ambled her way up to porch, stepping into the shade of the house and placing her hands on her hips. Looking to her left, she glanced down at a wrinkly old man in a rocking chair. His skin color was of Latin-American heritage, but all his clothes stated that he was from the Hawaiian Islands.

"I'm here to visit my sister before I fly off to New Orleans in a couple days." The old man replied in a hoarse voice, wheezing out a couple dry coughs. "Of course, I'm coming to regret my choice with all the dry heat and dust out here. I don't get how you people can live in all this dust, dirt, and sand. It's like God's own personal sandbox to play in, not to mention its one giant cat box!" The girl chuckled loudly and shook her head.

"I guess you have to build up a tolerance for dust or turn your immune system into a filter if you ever want to live out here…" She commented, turning away to go into the house. Her uncle coughed a couple more times as she opened the screen door to her right.

"Aaaaahhh… you certainly have a tolerance built against nature, huh, Jane…" He commented. The girl turned slightly and looked at him with hidden sadness in her eyes, but a smile still hung on her lips.

"Uncle Mark. Jane was my mother; I'm her daughter Tess, your niece." With that said she walked into the house and pushed back the pain that arose in her heart. It was very spacious in the house, with a big floral couch against the wall with a small coffee table in front of it. On the opposite wall was a larger entertainment center with a large flat screen T.V. sitting in the middle of it. The news was on, broadcasting a scene of a long strip of the Highway with several large craters that were smoking black; as if someone or something had thrown an explosive, with a smaller damage capability of a grenade but could also be hot enough to sear and smolder asphalt long after the explosion had occurred, onto the ground. There were a lot of skid marks and tire marks on the asphalt as well, indicating that there had been cars involved and maybe even had caused some traffic issues as well. Rails were scratched, bent, and even crushed, but yet strangely enough, there were no cars around. Tess sighed indifferently as the familiar face of Agent William Fowler came on screen. He had been called in to help investigate as well as figure out these bizarre attacks on the road and catch the perpetrators, but so far, in the last year or two he hadn't even come close enough to catch the assailants and put an end to the terror on the road. For Tess, seeing photos and live video shots of these weird attacks on the road had pretty much become a-typical. At first, people had been scared to go out of town on the roads and somehow getting involved in accidents such as these ones, but nothing had ever happened to any of the citizens here in Jasper, so nobody was overly worried anymore.

Tess jumped as a loud voiced shouted out, "Well come on over into the kitchen, girl! Don't stand there melting your brain away to the stupid teley." She glanced to her left, walking past the couch and living room as she made her was towards the dining room/ kitchen in search of the voice. In the middle of the kitchen stood a tall bulky woman with platinum gray hair who stood in front of an oven as another wave of heat poured out of the kitchen and in the hot air outside. Tess nearly fainted from the heat as she glanced away for a moment, trying to adjust to the temperature of the room.

"Grandma, you're cooking while it's almost ninety-four degrees outside? Are you trying to induce a heat stroke on yourself and everyone else in the house? I mean, even the dog looks like its dying from the heat." Tess said as she glanced down to her right where her grandma's pet corgi named Liberty was panting heavily. She glanced back to her grandma just as she turned and briskly slapped her apron clean of any crumbs and/or flour. Her grandma wore a pair of beaded rim glasses that were tinted lavender to her light, hot chocolate skin. Her eyes showed a warm amber glow behind her glassed frames.

"My oh my…" The lady mumbled as she walked over and hugged Tess. She kissed Tess on the forehead and held Tess' face in the palms of her hands. "Look at you. All grown up and everything, just like your mother…God bless her soul."

Tess beamed at her grandma. "How's it been, Nana? I hope Uncle Mark hasn't been too much trouble for you."

"Why are you worried about Karen?!" yelled a voice from the porch. "She's the one who's practically keeping me as a prisoner!"

"Hush your mouth, you old coot! If I didn't keep a firm grip on you and where you went, I'd have the police on my doorstep with you half-naked and cuffed with half the town somehow magically blown up. You're a wreck, that's what you are…" Her grandma shot back.

"Ah, blow it out you old biddy!" came a cranky reply.  
"Don't make me come out there with my rolling pin, Markus. You don't want me angry." Grandma growled the warning and Tess instinctively flinched. Her grandmother was notoriously known and feared for her unquestionable skill in the art of the rolling pin, and it was something even Satan would dare not trifle with. Rolling her eyes to the sky and shook her head. _Relatives…_ "Anyways, you got the message I left for you earlier, right?" Tess looked over at her grandma and nodded.

"Yeah, about the message cousin Adrian left me?" Tess said with distain in her voice. Adrian was the flaw of the family, the weasel or the fox in the vineyard of her family heritage. He was always stealing things so he could pawn them off later, or depending upon how big it was (size wise), try to auction it off at the back-alley market houses.

"Uh huh. He said he found something of interest that he wanted to have, but he wouldn't say what." Her grandma glanced back at the oven for a moment before walking back over to it to stir the contents inside her roasting pot. Tess followed after and leaned against the sink counter. "He's outside on the back porch waiting to talk with you. Mind you, he seems a little more… paranoid nowadays than when he used to be, the little weasel."

Tess slouched against the sink counter. Great… She pushed off from the counter and walked towards her grandma's French doors. She had just opened the door when a thought came to her. Glancing down, she clapped her hands together and called for Liberty. The corgi came immediately and waddled happily up to her. Tess grabbed one of her grandma's gallon-sized buckets from the dining table that was empty and strolled out of the door with it in hand. The corgi rushed outside to relive herself while Tess walked over to the hose on the right side of the porch. She turned the water on until it ran cool and filled the bucket full of water. She shut off the hose and turned around to figure out the corgi's position in the backyard. The dog's back was turned to her as she squatted down into one of her grandma's bushes taking a number two. She was only a few feet away and that was good enough for Tess. Grabbing the bucket, she lightly walked over to the edge of the porch and threw the water over the dog. Liberty gave a startled yelp as cold water drenched her body and she bolted around the yard. A satisfactory smile settled on her lips as she walked over to the hose, refilled it again, and left it by the back doors. She wasn't being mean to the dog, rather, since dogs didn't have the same ability as humans to cool down there bodies, Tess was improvising by helping to cool down Liberty's body in the hot, dry air of the afternoon with some cold water that would eventually dry out. Tess glanced over to the left side of the house to see a large summer umbrella sinking out of a hole in a small circular table and two chairs on either side of it. One chair was occupied by her cousin and there was a small, four-by-five inches tall wooden box on the table beside him. She walked over to the chair and sat down. She glanced over at her cousin and had to do a double-take because the person she was looking at didn't look anything like the cousin Adrian she remembered. The cousin Adrian she knew was tall and lanky, with tanned golden-brown skin and slick-backed dark umber hair. The man that sat beside her was thin and withdrawn with gray streaks and speckles of white in his dark umber hair. His face had a graying beard as well to match his hair. He looked older, even though he was only thirty-eight going on thirty-nine in a few months.

"Adrian…? Is that you?" She asked skeptically. He stared out at the backyard, admiring the desert garden that their grandma had worked hard to achieve on her own after grandpa died a few years back. He sat quietly for a few more moments before a heavy, tense sigh escaped his lips.

"Yeah, it's me…" He said quietly.

"You look old. What happened to you?" she continued to probe at her cousin's physical state.

"Tess…I'm sorry, but I don't have time to answer all your questions and I'm sorry I have to do this to you but… you see, there's been a lot of issues over the years for me and the life I've lived up 'til now, but nowadays, I've reached a huge, gigantic problem that won't go away. No matter where I run or where I hide. It's been a hazardous and down-right dangerous situation for me and now, it's all because of stupid item I found and tried to sell…" He suddenly twitched and reached up to scratch a strange tattoo that glowed a neo blue against his tanned skin. Tess gazed at it in wonder and curious, but it seemed that Adrian had noticed her intense stare at the strange tattoo and quickly pulled his collar on his vest up higher so that she could no longer see it. He reached over and touched the box cautiously, sliding it towards her. "You may take a look inside but only under the umbrella. Satellites these days can see down to the fine curved hair of your eyebrows and by no means, must anyone or anything see the contents of this package in the day or the night." Tess looked warily at the box before she opened it carefully under the protection of the umbrella. Inside the box was a strangely shaped sphere that was the same size of a football. It was shaped and designed like an eyeball; it even had an iris in the middle of it. She looked over at her cousin in confusion and frowned.

"What is it?" She asked, closing the lid shut.

"Trust me. You don't want to know. If I told you what it was, you wouldn't believe me. Not in a million years. But this tiny thing contains knowledge and technology that out classes our own and is far more advanced than anything we've ever encountered as humans." Adrian took a deep, long breath before he stood. A flickering blue glow appeared in his right eye as he looked over at Tess and she stared in wonder. _What, indeed, had happened to her cousin in the last few years to have caused him to change so drastically…?_

"Adrian, your eye…" Tess pointed out.

He sighed heavily. "Tess I need you to listen carefully, very carefully. What I'm about to tell you is so crucial, that it depends upon your life and the lives of everyone on this planet that you pay attention to my words. That sphere must be hidden, and I mean, so hidden and guarded from all types of eyes that not even a metal detector or a construction crew could find it. Hide it somewhere secret, somewhere safe; but not at your house or work. Keep it well away from civilization and I must stress on this but… DO NOT TOUCH IT. Don't let anything touch it or else. I'm not kidding, do not touch it! After you hide it, don't mention it or this conversation ever again. EVER! Forget about it, forget I was here, forget this conversation right now – but only AFTER you hide it! And for the love of God, do not mention it around anything electronic or near vehicles – ESPECAILLY vehicles! Don't tell your friends, don't tell grandma; and don't talk about it out loud. And I swear this on my dying life, everyone you love and cherish will fall victim to what is after that chip!"

He suddenly stopped and bent over for a moment before his body suddenly jerked back as he strained to focus on something far into the sky. His right eye and the strange tattoos glowed fiercely now as he clenched his teeth together to suppress a rising scream in his throat. A few moments later he collapsed onto the chair, leaning on it for support as he panted heavily for air. He muttered and stuttered several words together, like he was trying to speak but the words were forming into complex sentencing, almost like an equation. He stood again but Tess kept her distance. She was completely worried now about her cousin's mental health. "I-I have to leave now, Tess…" He said quietly as he stood up again. "…and I won't see you ever again in this life. I know too much and telling you what's to come might also bring you into this secret war… these things will come after everyone so I have to go…God, I can sense them now. They're coming this way and I have very little time…" He glanced back at her; his eye normal again. "Tess, one last thing before I go… I wrote you a note and left it inside the box on where to find my journal. It's of great priority that you find it and retrieve it after you hide the chip. You must read it and in time, I hope you can come to forgive me for the troubles I've now placed on you…" he said solemnly. He turned and ran through the house to the front porch. A few seconds later she heard the roar of an engine come to life and listened quietly as a car sped away from Jasper, heading east into the hills.

Tess frowned for a moment longer before glancing down at the box containing the strange sphere. How endangering could such a chip be? Apparently it was endangering enough for her own cousin to have sincerely apologized to her as well as driven him into an extreme case of paranoia. She walked over to the box now and placed it in the crook of her arm. She folded her shirt around it slightly, shielding it barely from the sun as walked back into the house. She felt completely embarrassed and paranoid herself that such an item was not really something to be overly fearful of. Was it really worth all the trouble it had cause her cousin to believe? Of course, he cousin had once been a sane man so maybe there was something more to that sphere than meets the eye. She wasn't ignorant to possibility of what troubles it might bring upon herself and/or her family.

"Was that Adrian who just left now?" Her grandma asked as Tess walked passed her, making her way to her ford outside.

"Yeah he had to urgently go and didn't explain why either, though. Left me a present; a cheapskate watch." Tess fibbed. She was naturally good at fibbing her way out of situations, when she wanted to.

"Huh. That weasel… Never liked the child after he tried to make off with your Aunt Maxine's silver sconces and rare, hand-carved walrus tusk war horn. It was your great grandmother's wedding gift to your aunt." The old lady growled from the kitchen. Tess moved swiftly for the door.

"Well, I have to dine and dash, but I have to get to work down at the shop. I'll stop by later if I can, otherwise I'll be over tomorrow around noon grandma." Tess yelled as she opened the front door and swiftly made her way to the truck.

"Stop by later if you can hun!" Her grandma hollered back.

"See ya later, Jane…" called her Uncle Mark from the porch.

Tess rolled her eyes and with a heavy sigh, she jumped into her truck and hid the box inside an old gun crate she had hidden under the seat. She revved the engine to life and reversed from the driveway all the way to the street; speeding away towards town with another heavy sigh again. "What have I gotten myself into…?" She muttered darkly.

X X X

"Soundwave! Have you picked up the location of that human?" growled a deep grating voice as it entered an alien command room. Heavy, thundering footsteps seemed to cause tremors inside the big room as several Vehicons looked after from their stations and screens to glance carefully up at the owner of the voice. It was their master, Megatron, Lord of the Decepticon armies that hailed from their home planet Cybertron. He strolled into the room looking around for the head of Intelligence and his frown deepened into an angry curl of his lips. "Starscream! Where is Soundwave?!" Megatron yelled aloud, sending his message through the radio links throughout his entire war-ship, the Nemesis.

"Milord, Soundwave picked up the human's location moments ago and went with five other Vehicons to go after it. Currently, they are in pursuit of the human now." radioed back a firm but deceitful voice of the Decepticon First Lieutenant, Starscream. Megatron growled in thought. The sooner they had the human the better they had the advantage over the Autobots. Of course Megatron wasn't entirely thrilled at the idea of a filthy pest (human) having acquired a very ancient and powerful relic, but none the less, he needed it out of the reach of Optimus Prime.

"Sir! We just picked up on three Autobot signatures in the same area as Soundwave and the others." Stated a Vehicon to Megatron's right.

"What?!" Megatron all but roared as he glared down at the Vehicon who had spoken; his anger seething as he glared at the solider. The Vehicon instantly regretted speaking, but it was its job to inform Soundwave or Megatron of any anomalies. Megatron growled in frustration as he turned to two other Vehicons to his left. "You two! Patch me a link to Soundwave!"

The two Con's worked quickly and in a few seconds they had patched a link to Soundwave. "Ready to relay, sir!" One of the Vehicons said.

"Soundwave! I will keep the Autobots occupied long enough for you to capture the human. Failure to complete this task and your punishment will be severe. Megatron out." Megatron commanded as he looked forward to address the others in the room. "If I do not have a ground bridge connected to Soundwave's coordinates in the next few seconds, I will personally offline every last one of you with my own hands…"

A few moments later, a swirling vortex of blue and green lights opened up on top of a canyon overlooking a highway road below. A giant jet plane, its model and size not made anything like that on earth, roared out of the portal as it made its way to where Soundwave, in his alternative Predator B Drone mode, was following after a single vehicle on the road. Five of his Vehicon soldiers were right behind the vehicle, all of them black with tints of purple marking while chasing after a bright red 1960's Ford Mustang as it tried to shake its pursuers. Not too far behind was the loathsome leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, and his two faster companions, Arcee and Bumblebee. Megatron's anger seemed to seep out of his alternative mode as he flew towards the Autobots, letting out a barrage of plasma blasts from his cannon and guns as he flew after them, diverting their attention from Soundwave.

"Autobots, ensure the safety of the human!" Megatron heard the commanding voice of Optimus as Arcee and Bumblebee took off and started firing on the Vehicons. Two of his soldiers moved out of formation and turned around to go engage the Autobots perusing them. Megatron veered off as he turned and shot at the cliff-face up ahead, over shadowing the highway below. He shot a well-placed plasma cannon beam at the weakest part of the cliff, causing it to crumble and block off the Autobots from the human and his soldiers. Glancing down, he watched as Optimus, a large empty bed Semi-truck, used one of the rocks as a ramp and flew into the air, aiming himself to land on the other side until another shot knocked him off course and sent him flying as he transformed to the ground on his feet. Megatron transformed fifty feet above Optimus as he came crashing down overhead with his built-in sword swinging down in an arch at Optimus' head. Optimus rolled out of the way, knocking into some of the rock rubble as his own blades sprang forth from his arms and he activated his shielding mask over a majority of his face. "Megatron, why are you pursuing an innocent civilian?!"

A sneer overcame Megatron's features as he and Optimus circled each other. "Why, Optimus… So concerned you are for these annoying pests, but let me assure you that this human is by far from innocent." Megatron chuckled as he kept Optimus stalled for the moment.

"No human or other species is safe in your hands, Megatron. What makes this one so special that you would come here to ensure its capture?" Optimus narrowed his eyes in great suspicion.

"Why, I simply want to have a chat with this human, just like you have with your human pets. Or am I suddenly the only one who's not allowed to have one too?" Megatron remarked, somewhat in a coy tone and mannerism.

"Megatron, we both know that the only talking you do is the kind that extracts information you want out of creature, whether they are Cybertronian or not. Now…" Optimus pointed one of his blades at Megatron, "…Cease this pursue of the human. I will not allow you to harm another human or Autobot life."

"Then I guess our business is concluded then, Optimus…" Megatron said darkly as he bared his teeth and charged at Optimus, who also charged at him as well. There was a loud clang of metal bashing into metal as roars of challenge ushered forth from both mechs. They were both quite evenly matched as they attacked; Megatron with his heavy but fast moving reflexes that he had honed in the gladiator battles in Kaon and Optimus with his light and fast, but calculating speed that he had acquired over the years of battle. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Soundwave picked up movement from behind him as the Autobots, Arcee and Bumblebee started to catch up to Soundwave and the other Vehicons. Without pausing in his rational and quick logic, he dispatched Laserbeak from himself as the Cybertronian bird flew stealthy into the air and hovered close, but far enough behind from the two Autobots to engage in minor combat. He sent out a barrage of plasma shots at the two as they veered off in an attempt to avoid getting hit, but not enough to stop them from keeping up with the Vehicons. While that battle was going on, Soundwave sent out several messages to the command central room as he laid out specific and quick orders for two ground-bridges to be opened in two separate locations.

Soundwave to Command: Activate ground-bridge at [coded location] in 3.67 seconds over to location [Cell 23]. Send and prepare for extraction 3 Seekers. Over.

Command to Soundwave: Request confirmed. Relaying commands now. Over.

Soundwave to Command: Activate second ground bridge at [coded location] in 9.83 seconds over to location [Hallway 94 D]. Over.

Command to Soundwave: Second request acknowledged. Over.  
A couple seconds later, a portal opened up right in front of the red mustang as it tried to swerve out of the way, but still it shot through the portal with the two Vehicons and Soundwave. But just before Soundwave had entered the portal as it was closing, he forwarded a message to Megatron and Laserbeak, informing them both of the second portal's location. As he went through, the portal closed immediately, blocking off the Autobots from following after them. He shifted and transformed, carefully landing as three Seekers and the two Vehicons trapped the red mustang in a tight formation as the human hid inside of it. Soundwave walked over to the red car, outstretching his robotic tendrils, and ripping the car's hood and glass off the body. The human inside crouched with his hands over his head as glass fell all around him, frantically looking around at the aliens that were after him. The cell door opened as the towering figure of Megatron filled the room. Soundwave didn't bother to look as he was preoccupied with extracting the human, which at the last moment jumped out of the tendril's reach and vaulted over the Vehicons that had trapped his car. The Seekers aimed their weapons on the human but a quick, barking command from Megatron deterred them.

"Do not shoot! We need this one alive." The human, quickly dodged the giant figure of Megatron, but truly, it had no place to run as Soundwave, quicker and calculating, snatched up the human and held him up so that he dangled in the air above by thirty feet. Soundwave sent out a small wave of electricity through his corded tendril until it hit the human, stunning him until he fell limp and unconscious in Soundwave's clutches. Megatron growled triumphantly, knowing that he had gained the prize he had sought out. "Never a mistake when you're on the job, Soundwave." Megatron commented approvingly. He turned and waved his hand to dismiss his soldiers. As soon as they had left, Megatron continued, "Soundwave, please take our guest to Knock Out and have him prepare a container of sorts so that when our guest awakens, I may ask him some questions…"  
{As you wish, Lord Megatron.} Soundwave replayed an audio clip of Knock Out's voice. Megatron turned and left the cell, with Soundwave following him out as he went about in search of the doctor.

X X X

Knock Out was in his medic bay with Breakdown, who was helping to buff out a couple of dents and scratches from a fight he had earlier with one of the Autobots. Knock Out relied on Breakdown, who was bigger, strong, and taller than the small, petite Doctor and was more or less considered an assistant when it came to reaching the certain spots on Knock Out's back that he couldn't reach himself. Knock Out hummed happily to himself as he directed his partner to the spots he couldn't reach that needed proper tending to. "Ahh, yes… Just a little lower, and be careful not to push into that scratch or you might end up adding another dent to my perfect frame like last time, Breakdown." Knock Out said calmly, but irritably as he fretted over the prospect of another dent in his hull. Breakdown rolled his eyes and was about to continue on when the door beeped and Soundwave walked into the room. Knock Out glanced causally over at Soundwave, making note of the human dangling limply in one of his out stretched corded tendrils. He smirked at the sight as he looked on. "Well hello to you, Soundwave. Care to explain why you have a human with you?" He asked smugly, with a hint of dark humor on his mind.

"Probably got jealous of not having one himself. Those Autobots sure fancy those pets of theirs…" Breakdown commented behind Knock Out as he held the buffer tool in his other hand. He too was curious as to why Soundwave had a human with him, but decided to leave the question asking to Knock Out. Knock Out chuckled lightly, a grin on his features as he laughed at the thought of Soundwave being jealous. Soundwave didn't move nor did he show any emotion as he eerily stared at the two. He stood silently like a statue for a few moments before he "spoke":

{…Knock Out…please take our guest…and prepare…a container of sorts so that when our guest awakens, I may ask him some questions…} Soundwave replayed and edited out some of Megatron's command from earlier to Knock Out. Knock Out rolled his eyes in annoyance, but complied. Without bothering to look at his partner, Knock Out walked over to one of the stations and started to pick out some tubes and other items while he spoke.

"Breakdown, would you go get the bio-lock and air-filtration mechanism on the fourth shelf in my quarters to the left when you first enter…? It should be next to my buffing tools." Knock Out waved his hand at wherever his assistant was as he continued to pull out a few more items he needed to construct a device to hold the human in. Breakdown complied and left the room, bumping into a set of tools on a table as they clattered noisily onto the floor. "And watch where you're going, you big lump of metal!" Knock Out nagged aloud as he was left alone with Soundwave. He bent over to collect the tools on the ground, and soon after, began in earnest to work on assembling a long, bullet proof glass cylinder the size, width, and length of a small car. While he worked, Soundwave watched him work on the project at hand, keeping a steady but firm grip on the human. The sooner he didn't have to be in contact with the organic pest, the better, he thought. Knock Out added a bottom and top to the container as he fashioned one of the ends to open and close like a mechanical strainer at the push of a button on the side. He had just finished soldering the bottom and the top onto the glass container when Breakdown reappeared with two different devices in his hand. He handed them off to Knock Out, who without pausing, simply configured and snapped the pieces on together to create a container that could easily open and close, give the human plenty of air to breathe even if he was in outer space, allow for a mild but warm temperature to keep the human sustained, and could accommodate enough space for the human to rest in, stand in, and sit down in. As a finishing touch, he added a handle at the top that could fold and lock to the side if need be for extracting the human without getting in Soundwave's or Megatron's way. He smiled and admired his work before turning to look at Soundwave and grin.

"I believe this will work for what you need, Soundwave." Knock Out haughtily as he opened the container's top and out stretched it in Soundwave's direction. Without further prompting, Soundwave carefully placed that human inside the container as the human slumped onto the bottom of the container. Knock Out sealed it shut and snapped the handle out so that Soundwave could carry it without a problem. Soundwave extended the tendril out and grasped the handle firmly as he nodded to Knock Out and left the medic bay. Knock Out smiled, placing a hand on his hip as Soundwave left but he wasn't really happy; more like amusingly annoyed. "Never a 'thank you' or 'thanks' from that one. For all the work I do around here, no one seems to appreciate me." Knock Out complained loudly to his assistant, as he waved his hand in the air as walked back over to the same spot as before, before his buffing was interrupted. Breakdown, who just rolled his eyes as he grabbed the buffing machine, walked over to Knock Out.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't take it personal. We all know that Soundwave doesn't like to talk much, especially since he hates being here… On earth, I mean." Breakdown said as he swapped out the end on the buffer machine. Knock Out only chuckled as he hummed thoughtfully.

"Of course. Why, I remember when he actually used to talk much more, back on Cybertron anyways. Aaahhh, well…" Knock Out shrugged as his mind shifted onto another thought. "How peculiar for Lord Megatron to bring a human, of all creatures, aboard his ship…"

"Who knows what's on his mind nowadays. Personally though, I don't think Starscream is going to last much longer as our 'esteemed' commander after the stunts he pulled…" Breakdown muttered as he walked over to Knock Out and began to buffer out some of the dents and scratches again. Knock Out purred delightfully and appreciably.

"Hmm~ that'll put a kink in Starscream's goals and ambitions. Anyways, Breakdown, hurry up and finish getting my backside. I need to clean the underside of my wheels. I can feel the mud and the sand starting to rust away my perfect finish by the nanosecond!" Knock Out griped at Breakdown. His partner sighed, rolling his eyes as he continued on with his work.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a loud echoing ring that rung through a large, spacious mechanic's shop as a voice penetrated loudly over the noise, "Max! MAX! Get the damn phone, will ya?!" growled Tess as she wiggled and squirmed from underneath the car she was working to fix as she tried to get to the phone herself. There was a gas leak under the body of a blue Cadillac as she wiped off some of the grease and oil onto her dirty shop overalls. She wore a faded green shirt with a few holes on the sleeves underneath the overalls as well as a pair of steel-toe boots that were also smeared with grease and oil. It wasn't that she wore the boots out of fear that she might drop something dangerously onto her feet; the reason was more based on the fact that the boots provided her feet protection when she used them as a non-lethal weapon when she was mad. She worked day shifts at a local and popular mechanic shop owned by one of her father's long-time business partner and friend, Eddie Penton. The mechanic shop was a medium sized warehouse that had a three-story office built to the right of the building that housed Eddie's business and company work in car dealing. She stood up quickly looking around for where the phone was on the wall to her left as the phone rang its last and silence engulfed the shop. Scowling and swearing under her breath, she glanced around for the tall, slightly heavy built of a dirty-blond man named Max. She found the target of her anger leaning on one of the entrance doors into the shop with his back turned to Tess as he was flirting way with someone out front. She stalked over to them with grim determination. As she got closer, the more she could hear the conversation they were having and it only made her angrier.

"…so, like, what time would you like me to pick you up, hun?" Max said in a sweet-talking, cool voice as he flirted up a storm with the brown curly haired hooter girl who had her boots in a somewhat strangely hold as they were forced into smaller, more revealing clothes. The lady was a C-cup or a D-cup as well as an oblivious blond in the way she smiled at him and giggled as she flaunted her boobs and hips underneath her Shorty-McShort shorts-skirt. She flashed her pearly white teeth at him, until she noticed Tess coming towards them and it started to disappear. Max, sensing who was approaching, rolled his eyes and said aloud, "What is it now-"

He never got a chance to finish as the sound of a steel-toe boot and flesh connecting sounded throughout the entire room and everyone instinctively flinched. Max stared cross-eyed in front of himself as he crumpled, slowly but indefinitely, to the ground and started making a high-pitched whimper of pain and agony. "THAT's," Tess snarled angrily as she planted her foot down on the ground again, "what you get for ignoring an important business call! Next time I catch you pulling a stunt like this; I'll cripple and smash your twig and berries into processed hamburger meat!" Without pausing in her anger, she glared up at the bimbo in front of her and growled, "BEAT IT." The girl ran without a second thought as she headed up town and around one of the buildings; disappearing for good. Several of the guys in the room shook their heads at the cocky attitude that Max had displayed towards Tess. Most of the guys and gals who worked in the shop knew two fundamental rules about the place: Firstly, as much as Eddie was the owner of both buildings, he was no mechanic and he rarely ever stepped inside the shop to give orders; and secondly, even though Eddie was the owner of the entire business, Tess was firmly in charge of taking care of the chaos that went on inside the auto shop. And Eddie preferred to keep it that way. Tess spun around smoothly as she stalked away towards the phone inside a small, sound-proof office lounge room with a couple leather seats, a couch, and a 23" plasma T.V. She closed the door shut and walked over to the phone, punched in a few commands, and a phone ID popped up as she stared hard at the number, recognizing it instantly as her Aunt Marge's number. Although the number wasn't a customer's, she didn't think twice with regret to nailing Max in his privates, seeing that lately he had taken to being aloof and lazy while on-duty at the shop and she wasn't going to tolerate any idle hands in a continuously busy shop.

She hit the "Send" button on the phone and instantly redialed the number back. A couple of beeps passed before someone on the other line answered, "Hello?"

"Aunt Marge, it's me, Tess. You called a few minutes ago?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, I was calling to see if Adrian had stopped by to visit you." Marge asked; a tone of concern in her voice.

"No, Grandma Karen had him over at her house before he left a while ago." Tess replied; careful not to mention too much of what happened at the house over the phone.

"Oh really? Did he leave anything while he was over at Karen's house, like his cellphone maybe? He said he was going to be swinging by my place and dropping off something he wouldn't say over the phone and I haven't seen or heard from him yet…" Marge said with worry in her tone. Tess blinked a couple times as a feeling of edginess crept into her mind. Adrian was known for many things, but being late wasn't one of them. Come rain, hail, sun, tornado, or radiation, he'd be somewhere on time, as if his life depended upon it. So, for him to be late to see Marge, that meant several things at once and none of them were _good_.

"What time did he say he was going to be at your place, Marge?" Tess asked warily.

"Four thirty PM. Sharp."

Tess glanced at her watch. It was five twenty-three PM. Yep. That pretty much meant that all of Tess' internal alarms were blaring out and flashing as she turned from being edgy into mildly paranoid. "Marge," Tess said as she tried to think calmly, "I want you to do me a favor. Call around and see if Adrian had made any other plans to stop by and visit any of ours other relatives and/or his friends in the area. If not, call the cops and put him on the missing persons' list. And if they blow you off, tell whoever's on the phone that Tess from Penton's Auto-shop told you to call in. I've got to go now. I'll see about heading over to Rachel's house after I get done with taking care of work and such here at the shop, alright? And remember: stay calm. A panic attack should only happen after we've done our best to contact and find out where he is or where's he gone."

"Alright, if you say so. I'll talk with you later, Tess." Marge replied quietly.

"Talk with you later…" Tess mimicked. She pressed the end call button and placed it back on the coffee table in front of her. She stood for a moment, her mind unmoving as she tried to think about everything that was happening all at once. First a visit from her creepy cousin, then the box and the weird message he had left behind, and now he was missing, _all-in-the-same-day_? She glanced out to the shop and bit her lower lip. She had to get rid of the box, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If what her cousin had said was true, then the sooner it was out of her life, the better off she would be. The safer she would be, in fact… She shook her head, hoping to clear her paranoid mind that was screaming for her to leave right now, with the box, and bury it somewhere hidden and unreachable. No, she thought, I need to think about this clearly. After Rachel's house, I'll head home, and… wait a moment. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out her wallet, diving in to find a small piece of paper that was hiding behind her driver's license. Pulling it out, she unfolded the small piece of paper and looked down at the three letters in bold on the paper: **C - O - D**. Smiling with a grand idea already scheming in her head, she re-folded the paper back together and slipped it into wallet, grinning. Tonight was one of the drag races up near the mountains and she knew the best place to put that box before tonight's big race.

Without a further ado, she marched right back into the shop again and headed straight for Dan, who was the second-in-charge mechanic of the shop. "Hey Dan! I'm gonna have to leave early tonight. Something's going on with one of my family relatives who, we think, has gone missing so I need to see if I can go track him down." Tess said, half-truthfully. Dan looked up from the 1984 Cadillac he was inspecting for a leak in the engine.

"Sorry to hear. And yeah, I'll take over the shop from here." Dan replied as he went back to his inspection.

"Thanks Dan, you're the man." Tess smiled sadly, dramatically playing with her emotions to seem distressed about the loss of Adrian. She turned and walked towards her truck but not before turning back around again and shouted, "I owe you one!" Dan grunted and labored over the Caddie without bothering to look up. She turned one-eighty and marched over to her truck, popped right in, and let the engine roar to life as she exited the parking lot as she headed down to Rachel's house; Adrian's older sister.

X X X

By the time Tess had finished visiting and talking with Rachel at her house, it was already seven-o-eight PM and she was in a rush to get home. Tonight's race started at nine and she couldn't afford to be late to another race. She cut through a couple back-roads to get to her place, which happily enough was somewhat near the edge of town, in a small rural area that didn't have a lot of people nearby so that she and her friends could go out without getting caught by the cops.

"Ugh," she said as she sniffed her arms, "I need a shower before I leave tonight." She turned left at one of the last intersections before entering the highway and smiled at the sight of her shared house. It was an old three-story firehouse that dated back to the 1980's with two giant glass and metal fire-truck doors that reached a good twenty feet height and a total thirty-two feet from one edge to another on the left side of the house. It was remodeled after her best friends and roomies, Dylan and Gloria, bought the abandoned place five years ago with some help of Gloria's parents from overseas. All three of them had gone to middle school and high school together, with cars and racing being the one common love child that they spoke about often and enjoyed immensely. Tess pulled into the driveway on the right-hand side as she put the truck in park and hopped out. Slamming the door shut, she didn't bother to lock up her truck, knowing that it would be unlikely for anyone to be able to steal anything of value from an old rusty looking truck. There was a small door to the right of the right garage door as she walked up to it and punched in her five-digit code and walked in. The garage was extremely large and spacious, with dimensions of the entire room being forty-seven feet high with a length of thirty-three feet and a width of twenty-nine feet. On the right side of the building was a two story house built into the garage that could be accessed from both the top story and the bottom story with ease, though you had to take the stairs built into the side of the wall of the garage to get to the second story of the house as well as the third story floor that was built above the first two floors of the garage room. The third story room was the "man-cave" where everyone got to hang out on the computers and game equipment that decorated the room. It was built heavily and structurally safe to the point that it would take an earthquake of an eight-point-five magnitude to make the third floor come crashing down on the first floor of the garage, not to mention it was also built to be sound proof.

Four cars were lined up side-by-side in one corner of the garage and in the other were three pairs of motorcycles; every last vehicle being a custom made and alternate design to its original, done up by both Tess and Dylan. The garage or the multi-purpose room (MPC Room for short) was designed as everyone's special place of downtime to hang out and spend some time with everyone to help make new drag racing cars. Though drag racing was illegal, none of them cared because it was a favorite past-time hobby and it mostly kept Tess, the race car tester, and her mind busy.

"Yo, whadup girlie? How was work at the boy-toy shop?" Hollered a voice from above at her. She glanced up to see her guy friend Dylan leaning over the second floor stair rail as he smiled and gave a mock salute in her direction. He was African-American with blond dreads decorated in large, colorful beads and hair ties. He was easily six-foot-seven with a heavy football build from his long-over high years as line-backer and four-years of Marine Corp Boot camp training. He would have gone on for longer if it hadn't been to the fact that he had gained foot tendinitis and had to be medically discharged for a couple good reasons.

"Not much, Dyl. Had to leave a mark on Max today and had an incident with a missing family member. How about you?" Tess said back.

"So I heard from Dean at the shop earlier. He even sent me photos too…" Dylan grinned some more. "So… Who's gone missing this time and were you involved? Or was it Karen?"

Tess rolled her eyes as she walked over to the cars on the right, just past the star rail. "Cousin Adrian. I saw him earlier but now he's gone missing and we can't find him at all." Tess replied coolly. Her cousin may have changed to be a nicer man, but that didn't mean she had to give him an instant, overnight pardon from the last twenty years of his thievery and treachery to his own family members.

"I can tell how mentally beat-up you are about this." Dylan sarcastically as he descended the stairs to meet up with her next to the cars.

"So," she said as he stood next to her, "did you finally finish putting in the new sound system for BlackLights?" BlackLights was the name of Gloria's favorite car, which was a highly decorated 2000 Mitsuki Eclipse GT. It was a well invested car, with money, time, and blood used to make it as beautiful as it was. From the customized paints and trims, to shiny spinning rims, to the color of the rims and the leather seat interior as well as the heavily electronic radio system and sub-woofers that had been installed in; it was one heck of beauty to behold on the inside and the outside, but that wasn't the reason it was called BlackLights. At a first glance, the body of the car was painted milk-white with dark-silver and black flames around the sides of the car, but sadly, what most people could see (especially in places with lots of light) that the entire car was coated in a full-body tribal tattoo art painted in glow-in-the-dark paint. Not to mention, that under a UV light, anyone could see that the car had another tribal tattoo underneath the first one as well. Hence, the car's name.

"Yep. All six subs are installed and sounding epically wicked!" Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He grabbed one of the phobs on it and tapped in a code, pointing it at BlackLights. In an instant, the car came to life as the sound of popular hip-hop and R&B music blasted its way into the garage, causing Tess to wince at first before she recognized that sound and grinned. It was "Hips don't lie" by Shakira, one of Tess' all-time favorites from when she was a little girl. Without so much as caring, she began to sway her hips and dance to the beat of the sound as Dylan grinned happily at the sight of a pleased Tess. It was about to hit the chorus when Tess heard the sound of Gloria's voice from overheard:

"Oi! Shut that damn thing off! I'm on the phone you guys!" Dylan immediately clicked the phob and the car, as quickly as it came to life, powered off with the dying music.

"Sorry, G. Tess just wanted to take a look at the new sound system in BlackLights." Dylan shouted back, not seeing Gloria but knowing that she had left the door upstairs open. Tess grinned from ear to ear as she leaned against the door of BlackLights, staring at Dylan who was shaking his head. Dylan and Gloria were gearing up for a visit to Gloria's parent's house in Rome, Italy and the person Gloria was most likely taking to was the Airport personnel in Las Vegas.

"Well, next time be more considerate that someone might be on the phone…" Gloria replied back as the door upstairs slammed shut. By the way and the sound the door had been slammed, Tess could easily identify that Gloria wasn't really mad at them, just slightly irritated.

"So, Dyl-pill. Tonight's the night for the race over on the highway mountain. Which car can I use in the race tonight?" Tess asked as she watched Dylan for an answer. He reached up and scratched his head, pondering in thought.

"Mm… None of them, I'm afraid. I still have to get them all ready for the show next week and I can't constantly worry about which car might come home with a bashed up hood or punctured tires… Why don't you take one of the bikes?" He said as he gestured over to the three motorcycles in the other corner. She bit her lower lip with a pang of worry in her eyes. No way in hell was she going to a drag race on a motorcycle. That was like a stunt driver taunting death in the face like a naked hooker on the side of the street. Ten to one, she had a higher chance of destroying the bike, or dying, or both, all in one shot.

"Dylan," a voice said above them as both of them glanced up, "we only need two cars for the show in Reno. Let Tess borrow a car for the night. Besides, Tess has a higher chance of injuring herself and/or dying if she rides a motorcycle to a drag race with more vehicle drivers than motorcycle drivers. Also, you of all people should know very well how nasty those drag racers get when it comes to competition…" Gloria said as she descended the last of the stairs and walked over to the both of them. Dylan frowned slightly as Tess smirked.

"See? You want me dead, Dylan?" Tess teased as she played her favorite game of guilt tripping on him. Gloria caught the undertones in Tess' voice and winked at her.

"She might or get badly injured, Dyl, because you're hogging all the cars to yourself, when we only need two of them not three." Gloria hit Dylan hard with that last comment and he finally gave in.

"Alright! Alright, Tess you can borrow BlackLights or Queen of Hearts, but not Millennium or R-n-R, okay?" Dylan sighed as he glanced over at Tess. She innocently smiled, keeping a straight face as she walked over to BlackLights and gave him a meaningful look.

"Thanks Dyl-pill~!" Tess said sweetly as she looked back at the car as she carefully inspected it to see if there were any problems on the outside that she needed to know about before taking it out for a drive. "I'll take Blackie here out for a spin and test her speakers. Don't worry," she flashed a serious face at him, "I promise not to get her seriously scratched up if I can avoid it. Scout's honor." Dylan rolled his eyes and smiled, while Gloria wrapped her hands around his waist as she beamed a mischievous grin at Tess. Eying Gloria suspiciously, Tess raised an eyebrow to the ceiling. "Alright, spill it G, what's going on…?"

Dylan looked down at Gloria as she smiled sweetly at Tess. "So, I finalized that tickets and everything so Dylan and I are a-go for our trip to my parent's place. You'll have the place to yourself for a couple months, but don't worry. We've already set it up so that the rent and such will be paid for and taken care while we're away." Gloria said happily.

Tess crossed her arms in front of her as she leaned against the car door behind her. "Go on." Tess said with a smile, knowing that there was more to the tale then what Gloria was leading on. Dylan blushed slightly and smiled at Gloria.

"Well, if everything goes accordingly, Gloria and I are planning on getting married to each other over in Italy in a few months. So, in a sense, you might be home-alone for about three or four months…" Dylan said as he glanced meaningfully at Tess and then back at Gloria. Tess smirked and chuckled lightly.

"Swee~t! No more contesting for the remote control with Dylan for three months. Wow, I don't know what to do with all that extra excitement…" Tess said thoughtfully; planning and thinking about all the things she could do without her roommates around. Not to say that she didn't love being with them, but sometimes even she needed to take a break from her besties and their romantic "downtime".

Gloria rolled her eyes to the heavens above while Dylan just grinned. "Don't get your hopes up. Remember, this is supposed to be more of a two month trip rather than a three month trip and it will only _be_ a three month trip _if_ we decide to get married in Rome. First, we need to check it out after we get settled in at Gloria's parent's house." Dylan commented, giving his love a sideways glance.

"Whatever you say honey…" Gloria replied smoothly. Tess smile smugly as she took the phob in Dylan's hand and aimed it at one of the two large garage doors as she walked over to her truck.

"Where are you going now, Tess? You just got here, girl!" Dylan shouted after her. She smiled as she popped the truck door open, grabbed the box, and hauled it out of the vehicle as she slammed the door shut with her other hand; tucking it underneath her arm. "And what's in the box?"

"I dunno. Eddie asked me to do a run over to a dealership on my way over to tonight's race, since he trusts me not to muck up an important job." Tess said smoothly as she transferred the box into BlackLights and shut the door. Dylan's eyebrows raised a fraction but he seemed to buy it. Gloria, however, was a little more suspicious.

"How come it's so big? What's inside?" Gloria questioned innocently. Tess shrugged as she stared at her friend.

"Like I said, I dunno. He didn't tell me what was inside, he just asked me to deliver it. Though, if it was my guess, it's most likely a bunch of car-owning licenses that Eddie wants to see about fixing up and selling. I hear he's been in the market looking for a new business partner so he can expand his shop and business out into L.A. or something." Tess commented back. "Though, personally I'm just doing my job and I don't mind helping out Eddie when it comes to minor, on-the-way-to-a-drag-race deliveries." Tess kept up her best poker face she had while she turned and walked up the stairs to the second floor living quarters. "Hope you guys don't mind, but, I need to take a shower before tonight's race." She said loudly as she opened the door and closed it shut as she headed off to her room and personal bathroom shower. She shrugged off her dirty jeans and t-shirt before going completely nude and hopping right into a cold, soothing shower after a ninety-four degree day. She groaned pleasurably under the water as she tidied herself up in the shower. Fifteen minutes later, she was out of her room and heading down the stairs wearing a blue spaghetti strap tank top under a white with red and black tribal dragons design, button up shirt. She wore her light, but sturdy cut up blue jeans with rips and tears that went all the way down to her shins. She dawned on her M.J. baseball cap, a pair of large golden hooped earrings, and her father's and her grandfather's dog tags from when they served in the military. As she touched the garage floor, she made her way quickly over to BlackLights while yelling out, "Alright guys! I'm heading out! I'll see yal' a bit later. Wish me luck!"

"Drive safely!" Tess heard Gloria yell back from up above. A couple seconds later, she was in the car with the windows down and backing up to exit the garage when Dylan came into view in her mirrors and she put the car in idle as he walked over to the driver's side window.

"Hey, Tess…?" Dylan mentioned as he leaned against the frame of the door with an arm as he glanced around for a moment or two.

"What's up, D?" she asked.

Dylan was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke up in a low, serious tone, "Word on the street is that the 'European' is back on the roads again and has been seen at some of the races…"

Tess blinked a couple times as she processed the information. She remembered hearing about the "European", as everyone around here seemed to call him or her. Back several months ago, an extremely dangerous incident occurred on the road during a drag racing event, not once but twice. The first incident happened when some idiot driver decided to trash on another driver's car, the European's car, and as a result, the same idiot got bumped off the road onto the mountain side, but thankfully the guy survived but not before explaining that he had pissed off this European car and that it was the same car that had bumped him off the road. The second one involved a huge speed-way shooting at another drag race between a yellow and black mustang and the said European car and driver again. Not to mention, nobody knew who he or she was because they always showed up out of the blue and always in a red Ashton Martin. Ever since then, the idiot driver and some of his buddies had been looking for revenge against the European car and driver by asking around for him or her, while also heavily looking around at every single race in the entire county. Tess sighed and looked seriously at Dylan. "And you think that he or she is going to show up tonight, don't you?"

"I don't _think_ they're going to show up, but my _gut_ is telling me that something might go down tonight involving that European…" he said in return. She nodded in understanding, knowing that Dylan's "gut feelings" were as good as a blood hound's nose.

"Alright, then. I'll be extremely careful about driving tonight." She said as she put the car in reverse again. Dylan moved away as she backed out of the garage to the driveway and waved goodbye to him. He waved back and smiled as he watched Tess back out in the street and head off towards the mountain highway race; music blasting out of the speakers as she disappeared down the street.

X X X


End file.
